1 00:00:00,000 --> 00:00:04,001 Marshall McLuhan said that one day we would all live in a global village, an 2 00:00:04,001 --> 00:00:07,001 electronic community interconnected by communications 3 00:00:07,001 --> 00:00:09,001 networks that would shrink the earth. 4 00:00:10,001 --> 00:00:14,001 Well, the global village has arrived and its main street is called the Internet, 5 00:00:15,000 --> 00:00:19,000 where people from around the world do meet electronically to exchange ideas. 6 00:00:19,001 --> 00:00:23,001 Today we'll surf the net, we'll explore the Internet on this 7 00:00:23,001 --> 00:00:25,001 edition of the Computer Chronicles. 8 00:00:40,001 --> 00:00:45,001 Computer Chronicles is brought to you in part by Intel Microprocessor Technology 9 00:00:45,001 --> 00:00:47,001 for the software of today and tomorrow. 10 00:00:48,000 --> 00:00:49,001 Intel, the computer inside. 11 00:00:51,000 --> 00:00:55,000 Additional funding is provided by the Software Publishers Association, providers 12 00:00:55,000 --> 00:00:57,001 of educational materials to help manage software. 13 00:00:58,000 --> 00:00:59,001 Don't copy that floppy. 14 00:01:00,001 --> 00:01:03,001 And by Hewlett Packard, Personal Computer Division. 15 00:01:09,000 --> 00:01:12,001 Welcome to the Computer Chronicles, I'm Stuart Chafay and with me today is 16 00:01:12,001 --> 00:01:14,000 David Chargel of Aladdin Systems. 17 00:01:15,000 --> 00:01:17,000 David, there's a little bit of interest in the Internet these days. 18 00:01:17,000 --> 00:01:19,001 There's a new book coming out every week just about on how to use the Internet. 19 00:01:20,000 --> 00:01:23,000 You guys have just come out with a new piece of software called Sitcom that makes 20 00:01:23,000 --> 00:01:25,001 it easy to log on to Internet and move files up and back and so on. 21 00:01:26,000 --> 00:01:27,000 Show us how Sitcom works. 22 00:01:27,000 --> 00:01:31,001 Okay, well I'm in my address book right now and as you can see I just typed in my 23 00:01:31,001 --> 00:01:36,001 name, my phone number and my ID and password and I'm just going to save that 24 00:01:36,001 --> 00:01:38,000 address book entry and connect. 25 00:01:38,001 --> 00:01:39,001 It's that easy to try to connect. 26 00:01:40,000 --> 00:01:41,000 We're logging on right now. 27 00:01:41,000 --> 00:01:44,000 We're getting right now on to Netcom which is an Internet dial up. 28 00:01:44,001 --> 00:01:47,001 One of the things I did not show you in that particular address book entry was a 29 00:01:47,001 --> 00:01:49,001 pop-up menu that has a list of all the 30 00:01:49,001 --> 00:01:51,000 services that Sitcom knows how to get on to. 31 00:01:51,000 --> 00:01:54,000 For example, the well or the world which are other 32 00:01:54,000 --> 00:01:55,001 very popular Internet dial ups. 33 00:01:56,000 --> 00:02:00,000 It also knows how to get on to CompuServe, Genie, MCI Mail, Dow Jones, a lot of 34 00:02:00,000 --> 00:02:03,000 commercial services automatically as well as local bulletin boards. 35 00:02:03,001 --> 00:02:06,000 What I mean by that is it knows when to type, where to type. 36 00:02:06,000 --> 00:02:09,000 For example, when the system asks for password it knows when to type the 37 00:02:09,000 --> 00:02:12,000 password, when the system asks for the name, it knows when to type the name. 38 00:02:12,001 --> 00:02:14,001 Okay, so we are just about logged on now I see. 39 00:02:15,000 --> 00:02:16,001 As you can see it's typing the name, password 40 00:02:16,001 --> 00:02:19,000 and we've just established a connection here. 41 00:02:19,000 --> 00:02:19,001 Alright, so what can we do? 42 00:02:19,001 --> 00:02:24,001 I'm going to ask it to send me a file that I earlier got to my account on Netcom 43 00:02:24,001 --> 00:02:28,001 via FTP or File Transfer Protocol and you can see it's now downloading that 44 00:02:28,001 --> 00:02:30,000 file via Zmodem. 45 00:02:31,000 --> 00:02:36,001 Once that file is here, I'm going to disconnect, I'm offline now and it's 46 00:02:36,001 --> 00:02:39,000 automatically going to expand that file because it was in a stuff it format 47 00:02:39,000 --> 00:02:41,000 which is a popular format on the Macintosh. 48 00:02:42,000 --> 00:02:47,000 If I was dealing with files from the PC I can expand zip files, ARC files or if 49 00:02:47,000 --> 00:02:50,000 I'm dealing with Unix which is what the internet is based on I can get it Unix 50 00:02:50,000 --> 00:02:53,001 compress files, tar files, UU code files. 51 00:02:55,000 --> 00:02:57,001 So what I'm going to do now, I'm still within sitcom and I'm going 52 00:02:57,001 --> 00:02:59,000 to view the file that I just got. 53 00:02:59,001 --> 00:03:02,001 It's already expanded and here it is, the Clinton inaugural address. 54 00:03:03,000 --> 00:03:04,001 This is the full text that I got to my machine. 55 00:03:05,001 --> 00:03:06,000 And there it is. 56 00:03:06,001 --> 00:03:07,001 It was pretty easy to do. 57 00:03:08,000 --> 00:03:08,001 Alright, thank you. 58 00:03:09,000 --> 00:03:11,001 Today we'll spend some time on the internet and we'll visit folks who are doing 59 00:03:11,001 --> 00:03:14,000 all kinds of interesting things on internet. 60 00:03:14,000 --> 00:03:18,000 Now internet started as a defense department network designed specifically to 61 00:03:18,000 --> 00:03:20,000 hook up different research centers around the country. 62 00:03:20,001 --> 00:03:23,001 So we'll begin with a brief history of the internet by visiting the place where 63 00:03:23,001 --> 00:03:28,000 it all began ARPA, the Advanced Research Projects Agency in Arlington, Virginia. 64 00:03:30,000 --> 00:03:35,000 ARPA was formed by President Eisenhower after Sputnik, its mission to guard the U 65 00:03:35,000 --> 00:03:37,000 .S. against technological surprise. 66 00:03:37,001 --> 00:03:41,001 Pioneering work on networking technologies resulted in the birth of the internet. 67 00:03:41,001 --> 00:03:45,001 Since the early days, internet has provided vital communication 68 00:03:45,001 --> 00:03:47,000 links in the research community. 69 00:03:47,001 --> 00:03:52,000 The internet is one of the major projects from the late 70s, early 80s. 70 00:03:52,001 --> 00:03:56,000 There's been a long tradition of advanced technology developments at ARPA 71 00:03:56,000 --> 00:03:59,000 starting from the early time sharing projects through computer graphics, into 72 00:03:59,000 --> 00:04:02,001 computer networks, through personal computing, and more recently to the new world 73 00:04:02,001 --> 00:04:04,000 of scalable high performance computing. 74 00:04:04,001 --> 00:04:08,001 The most recent internet inspired development at ARPA is the Enterprise Room. 75 00:04:09,000 --> 00:04:12,000 That's Enterprise as in Starship Enterprise. 76 00:04:12,001 --> 00:04:16,000 ARPA's Captain Kirk is Steven Squires, Director of High 77 00:04:16,000 --> 00:04:17,001 Performance Communications Research. 78 00:04:18,000 --> 00:04:20,000 I'd like to welcome you to the bridge of the HPC Enterprise. 79 00:04:20,001 --> 00:04:24,000 Behind me you'll see a view screen which is a window into the country's high 80 00:04:24,000 --> 00:04:26,000 performance computing and communications program. 81 00:04:26,001 --> 00:04:31,001 On the center screen you can see a map representing all the bit ways which are 82 00:04:31,001 --> 00:04:34,000 feeding the Washington area to which this facility is connected. 83 00:04:34,001 --> 00:04:39,000 Enterprise is the visual embodiment of all the advanced technologies coming out 84 00:04:39,000 --> 00:04:42,001 of the government's high performance computing and communications program. 85 00:04:43,000 --> 00:04:45,001 And ARPA is not keeping Enterprise to itself. 86 00:04:46,000 --> 00:04:50,000 Researchers from around the country pop in via internet connections or in person. 87 00:04:50,001 --> 00:04:53,001 It's created a whole new spirit of cooperation among the different agencies in 88 00:04:53,001 --> 00:04:55,001 the federal government and throughout the scientific community. 89 00:04:56,000 --> 00:04:58,000 People are able to share ideas and develop new 90 00:04:58,000 --> 00:04:59,001 things simply based upon their interest. 91 00:05:00,000 --> 00:05:02,000 Mosaic is one of those new developments. 92 00:05:02,001 --> 00:05:06,000 It's a hypertext interface that lets you browse any information 93 00:05:06,000 --> 00:05:07,001 service provided by the internet. 94 00:05:08,001 --> 00:05:11,000 Mosaic was developed by the National Center for Supercomputing 95 00:05:11,000 --> 00:05:13,001 Applications with ARPA's support. 96 00:05:14,000 --> 00:05:19,000 The thing that makes Mosaic special is that it gives everyone access without 97 00:05:19,000 --> 00:05:22,000 there having to be a rocket scientist. 98 00:05:22,001 --> 00:05:25,000 They don't have to be trained in esoteric computing. 99 00:05:26,001 --> 00:05:27,001 Grade school kids can use it. 100 00:05:27,001 --> 00:05:31,001 In fact, we're installing it in schools because it's a point and click interface. 101 00:05:32,000 --> 00:05:35,001 And that point and click instead of going through information that's on your 102 00:05:35,001 --> 00:05:40,001 personal computer, it's as if there's a million computers on the internet inside 103 00:05:40,001 --> 00:05:42,001 your own personal computer. 104 00:05:43,000 --> 00:05:47,001 These top level researchers hope Mosaic lures more average computer users to the 105 00:05:47,001 --> 00:05:49,001 internet, especially young people. 106 00:05:50,000 --> 00:05:53,000 All over the world people, local people, ordinary people 107 00:05:53,000 --> 00:05:54,001 are becoming electronic publishers. 108 00:05:54,001 --> 00:05:57,001 They're putting up the things that mean something to them and they want 109 00:05:57,001 --> 00:05:59,000 to share it with the rest of the world. 110 00:05:59,001 --> 00:06:03,001 And what Mosaic does is it provides a window into this incredible cyberspace, 111 00:06:03,001 --> 00:06:05,001 this information space that's developing. 112 00:06:06,000 --> 00:06:11,000 And it allows you to simply, what we call net surf, looking for cool stuff. 113 00:06:11,001 --> 00:06:13,000 That's what the kids say they're doing. 114 00:06:13,000 --> 00:06:15,001 That's the whole mentality of this. 115 00:06:15,001 --> 00:06:18,000 For the Computer Chronicles, I'm Jonelle Patterson. 116 00:06:31,001 --> 00:06:35,000 As we mentioned earlier, there are lots of books out now on the internet and one 117 00:06:35,000 --> 00:06:37,001 of the best is by Brendan Kehoe, who's our guest now. 118 00:06:37,001 --> 00:06:41,000 This is Brendan's book, Zen and the Art of the Internet, a beginner's guide. 119 00:06:41,001 --> 00:06:43,001 And there's a new edition just coming out in January, I guess. 120 00:06:44,000 --> 00:06:46,000 Brendan, I want to ask you to log on to the internet. 121 00:06:46,000 --> 00:06:49,001 And while you're doing that, we're going to run over to NASA at Moffett Field in 122 00:06:49,001 --> 00:06:52,000 California to see how they are using the internet. 123 00:06:53,000 --> 00:06:57,001 This is the operation center for the NASA Science Internet, a network that lets 124 00:06:57,001 --> 00:07:00,000 NASA mission scientists around the world share information. 125 00:07:01,000 --> 00:07:04,001 NASA provides information for public internet access, but the NSI is 126 00:07:04,001 --> 00:07:06,001 strictly an insider network. 127 00:07:07,000 --> 00:07:11,000 The public cannot get an account on the NASA Science Internet. 128 00:07:11,001 --> 00:07:14,000 You have to be funded somehow by NASA. 129 00:07:14,000 --> 00:07:18,001 However, anyone with access to the internet can access the public information 130 00:07:18,001 --> 00:07:20,001 that NASA makes available. 131 00:07:21,000 --> 00:07:24,001 The latest innovation on the NASA Science Internet is packet video. 132 00:07:25,000 --> 00:07:28,001 NASA has devised a way to compress the video and audio segments of 133 00:07:28,001 --> 00:07:30,001 conferencing for carriage on the internet. 134 00:07:31,001 --> 00:07:34,001 All right, that makes great sense, I understand that. 135 00:07:34,001 --> 00:07:35,001 Thanks a lot, David. 136 00:07:36,000 --> 00:07:36,001 You're welcome. 137 00:07:37,000 --> 00:07:40,001 Packet video will cost a lot less than traditional video conferencing. 138 00:07:41,000 --> 00:07:46,000 Video conferencing facilities typically cost 10 to 20 times as much as the 139 00:07:46,000 --> 00:07:49,000 desktop video conferencing technology we're developing here at NASA. 140 00:07:49,000 --> 00:07:54,001 Also, the interconnectivity between sites often costs 50 to 100 dollars an hour, 141 00:07:55,000 --> 00:07:58,001 whereas using the internet we can transfer the material at approximately 10 142 00:07:58,001 --> 00:08:02,000 dollars an hour in wide area conferences, saving a tremendous amount. 143 00:08:02,001 --> 00:08:06,001 NASA is developing video hardware to reduce the signal load on the internet and 144 00:08:06,001 --> 00:08:08,001 a whiteboard for document sharing. 145 00:08:09,000 --> 00:08:12,000 All of this technology may show up soon in schools nationwide. 146 00:08:12,001 --> 00:08:16,000 In three to five years we expect to be able to put this technology into every 147 00:08:16,000 --> 00:08:20,000 school system in the country and share it for use in distance learning. 148 00:08:20,000 --> 00:08:25,000 And it can also be used for sharing valuable resources like a gifted instructor 149 00:08:25,000 --> 00:08:28,000 or a researcher in a wide area setting. 150 00:08:28,000 --> 00:08:31,001 Packet video currently transmits at two frames per second across the internet. 151 00:08:32,001 --> 00:08:36,001 Stations running at 10 to 12 frames per second will be deployed within two years. 152 00:08:36,001 --> 00:08:41,000 We'll have remote exploration vehicles sending back packet video information, 153 00:08:42,000 --> 00:08:48,000 Antarctica missions, missions using visualization technology and virtual reality 154 00:08:48,000 --> 00:08:51,001 technology using packet video to distribute these not only to researchers 155 00:08:51,001 --> 00:08:53,000 but to educational institutions. 156 00:08:54,000 --> 00:08:56,000 For the Computer Chronicles, I'm Janelle Stilson. 157 00:09:08,001 --> 00:09:12,001 And we're back here with Brendan Kehoe and you've logged on to Internet Brendan. 158 00:09:12,001 --> 00:09:15,000 Before we take a look, what's the big deal about internet? 159 00:09:15,000 --> 00:09:17,000 Why is everybody making such a fuss about it? 160 00:09:17,000 --> 00:09:19,000 Why is it better than CompuServe or Prodigy, etc.? 161 00:09:19,000 --> 00:09:23,000 Well, the chief benefit is that it's not owned by one company or even a 162 00:09:23,000 --> 00:09:25,000 conglomerate of companies like Prodigy or CompuServe. 163 00:09:25,000 --> 00:09:28,001 You're influenced by what those companies thought your users would want to do. 164 00:09:28,001 --> 00:09:31,000 Where on the internet anyone can put any service on and have 165 00:09:31,000 --> 00:09:33,000 it do anything they want with it. 166 00:09:33,000 --> 00:09:34,000 It's kind of user controlled. 167 00:09:34,001 --> 00:09:34,001 Right. 168 00:09:34,001 --> 00:09:37,000 It's completely molded by the people who use it. 169 00:09:37,000 --> 00:09:37,001 All right. 170 00:09:37,001 --> 00:09:40,000 Let's take a look and show me some of the neat things you can do on the internet. 171 00:09:40,000 --> 00:09:40,001 Okay. 172 00:09:40,001 --> 00:09:44,000 The first thing we'll be doing is looking for a job, a friend of mine who just 173 00:09:44,000 --> 00:09:46,000 got her teacher's certificate and she's in the northeast. 174 00:09:47,000 --> 00:09:51,000 So we'll be using a tool called Gopher which lets you burrow around the internet 175 00:09:51,000 --> 00:09:55,000 and pop up where the information you need happens to be and we're going into the 176 00:09:55,000 --> 00:09:58,001 online career center and this will let you search the job listings. 177 00:09:58,001 --> 00:10:02,000 It'll also let you search resumes if you're looking for people to work for you. 178 00:10:02,001 --> 00:10:04,000 And here we'll search for the word teacher. 179 00:10:05,000 --> 00:10:06,001 It'll go and perform the search. 180 00:10:06,001 --> 00:10:08,001 So you're looking for a teacher's job in the northeast? 181 00:10:09,000 --> 00:10:09,001 Right. 182 00:10:09,001 --> 00:10:10,000 Okay. 183 00:10:10,000 --> 00:10:15,001 And this is running on a machine in Michigan and here we've got a small list of 184 00:10:15,001 --> 00:10:18,000 positions and let's say she wants to be a substitute teacher. 185 00:10:18,000 --> 00:10:22,001 At the Bayview Health Care Center we'll get the list of contact information, the 186 00:10:22,001 --> 00:10:26,000 phone number, the requirements, salary, that kind of thing. 187 00:10:26,000 --> 00:10:26,001 That's pretty neat in itself. 188 00:10:27,001 --> 00:10:28,000 What else? 189 00:10:28,001 --> 00:10:30,000 And the next thing we'll be looking at is 190 00:10:30,000 --> 00:10:31,001 one of the more silly parts of the internet. 191 00:10:32,000 --> 00:10:37,000 It's called Finger which usually will let you go and check if people are logged 192 00:10:37,000 --> 00:10:41,000 into certain systems but some people have set up the information that gets output 193 00:10:41,000 --> 00:10:44,001 by Finger to be whatever they want like NFL scores or the billboard 194 00:10:44,001 --> 00:10:46,000 charts or that kind of thing. 195 00:10:46,001 --> 00:10:50,001 So here we're looking at the billboard charts for this week and we'll see... 196 00:10:50,001 --> 00:10:52,001 Top R&B singles, etcetera, etcetera. 197 00:10:52,001 --> 00:10:54,000 And we'll see number five is Mariah Carey. 198 00:10:55,000 --> 00:10:58,000 So one thing we can do over the net is order that CD. 199 00:10:59,000 --> 00:11:00,001 So you can't actually buy stuff on the internet. 200 00:11:00,001 --> 00:11:01,000 Right. 201 00:11:01,000 --> 00:11:05,000 It's a very sticky situation because one of the biggest problems is security 202 00:11:05,000 --> 00:11:06,001 and transfer of money and that kind of thing. 203 00:11:07,001 --> 00:11:11,001 But many systems have actually set it up so that you can do things on the 204 00:11:11,001 --> 00:11:14,001 internet involving money transfer and credit cards and that sort of thing. 205 00:11:14,001 --> 00:11:14,001 Alright. 206 00:11:14,001 --> 00:11:15,001 What else? 207 00:11:16,000 --> 00:11:21,000 So here we're going into the compact disconnection and as soon as it wakes up, 208 00:11:21,001 --> 00:11:25,000 one of the drawbacks of using the internet is that since it's so autonomous, 209 00:11:25,001 --> 00:11:29,000 every system can be up or down or be as slow as fast as you want. 210 00:11:29,000 --> 00:11:31,000 So nobody's really controlling traffic in the middle. 211 00:11:31,001 --> 00:11:34,000 And the only guarantee is that your packets will get there. 212 00:11:34,000 --> 00:11:35,000 It's just a matter of when they will get there. 213 00:11:35,001 --> 00:11:35,001 Okay. 214 00:11:36,000 --> 00:11:37,001 Well can we skip past this right now and let us know something else? 215 00:11:37,001 --> 00:11:40,000 This is taking a little long so what we'll do is... 216 00:11:40,000 --> 00:11:41,000 We'll skip buying the CD at the moment. 217 00:11:41,001 --> 00:11:42,001 We'll get out of there. 218 00:11:43,000 --> 00:11:50,000 And now we'll go in and we'll use a thing again using Go4 to 219 00:11:50,000 --> 00:11:52,001 look up an article in the New Republic magazine. 220 00:11:53,001 --> 00:11:55,001 And we'll fix a typo and there we go. 221 00:11:56,001 --> 00:11:58,001 And we'll go into the electronic newsstand. 222 00:11:59,001 --> 00:12:03,001 And all of the articles in the current edition of many magazines are available 223 00:12:03,001 --> 00:12:07,000 through this like the New Republic Internet World in fact is 224 00:12:07,000 --> 00:12:08,001 actually one foreign affairs magazine. 225 00:12:09,000 --> 00:12:13,000 So now we'll go into the New Republic and we'll go into the current issue and 226 00:12:13,000 --> 00:12:14,001 see what their editorial is about. 227 00:12:15,000 --> 00:12:16,001 It just happens to be about NAFTA. 228 00:12:17,000 --> 00:12:19,000 So I have to do a sit return on there and there's the editorial. 229 00:12:19,000 --> 00:12:19,001 Full text article. 230 00:12:19,001 --> 00:12:20,001 Full text for it. 231 00:12:21,001 --> 00:12:24,001 And what we can also do now, now that we've read that editorial is we can go over 232 00:12:24,001 --> 00:12:28,000 to another system in this case in University of 233 00:12:28,000 --> 00:12:29,001 Northern Carolina, North Carolina. 234 00:12:30,000 --> 00:12:32,000 And we'll use anonymous FTP. 235 00:12:32,001 --> 00:12:38,000 And by typing anonymous at the name prompt and then use our email address at the 236 00:12:38,000 --> 00:12:40,000 password you don't need a real password for this. 237 00:12:40,001 --> 00:12:43,001 This will let anyone put files available on the internet. 238 00:12:44,001 --> 00:12:49,001 And so in this case we're going to go into a public political science area. 239 00:12:50,001 --> 00:12:55,000 And if we do a directory we'll see it has a whole bunch of stuff, the US budget. 240 00:12:56,000 --> 00:12:58,000 And now we'll go into NAFTA. 241 00:12:59,001 --> 00:13:06,000 And we can see that we can actually get the full text of NAFTA separated by 242 00:13:06,000 --> 00:13:07,001 the chapters and by the appendixes. 243 00:13:07,001 --> 00:13:09,000 A couple of quick questions. 244 00:13:10,000 --> 00:13:11,001 If I want to get onto internet how do I do it? 245 00:13:11,001 --> 00:13:12,001 How do I get into internet? 246 00:13:13,000 --> 00:13:16,001 The best solution since it's very dependent upon where you live is to call 247 00:13:16,001 --> 00:13:18,001 something called the internet helpline. 248 00:13:19,000 --> 00:13:21,000 And you call 1-800-444-4345. 249 00:13:22,000 --> 00:13:25,001 And they'll help you find out who you should talk to in your local area. 250 00:13:25,001 --> 00:13:27,001 What on average is it going to cost to use internet? 251 00:13:28,000 --> 00:13:30,001 Between $10 and $20 a month for a normal user. 252 00:13:30,001 --> 00:13:31,001 Brendan, thank you very much. 253 00:13:32,000 --> 00:13:32,000 All right. 254 00:13:32,000 --> 00:13:35,001 To get the most out of something like internet we really need that information 255 00:13:35,001 --> 00:13:38,001 superhighway to give us all a common digital data path. 256 00:13:38,001 --> 00:13:41,000 That's the goal of the developers at the Bell Communications 257 00:13:41,000 --> 00:13:43,000 Research Labs in New Jersey. 258 00:13:44,000 --> 00:13:48,000 Bell Corps provides research, support and communication services to the seven 259 00:13:48,000 --> 00:13:49,001 regional Bell operating companies. 260 00:13:50,001 --> 00:13:54,001 Projects there involve expansion of digital transmission pathways such as the 261 00:13:54,001 --> 00:13:59,001 development of video on demand service transmitted over existing phone lines and 262 00:13:59,001 --> 00:14:02,001 innovations in video conferencing such as this desktop 263 00:14:02,001 --> 00:14:04,001 drop-in system called Cruiser. 264 00:14:05,000 --> 00:14:05,001 [...] 265 00:14:06,001 --> 00:14:07,000 How you doing? 266 00:14:07,001 --> 00:14:08,000 Okay. 267 00:14:09,000 --> 00:14:13,000 Research director Steve Weinstein says the internet plays a significant role in 268 00:14:13,000 --> 00:14:17,000 Bell Corps' work both as a research tool and as a subject for high 269 00:14:17,000 --> 00:14:18,001 -speed technology development. 270 00:14:19,000 --> 00:14:23,001 We believe that the public network, the owners of Bell Corps, can be providers, 271 00:14:24,000 --> 00:14:27,001 significant providers of those kinds of facilities that the 272 00:14:27,001 --> 00:14:29,001 future broadband internet is going to need. 273 00:14:29,001 --> 00:14:33,000 How people react to electronic forms of information is another 274 00:14:33,000 --> 00:14:34,001 subject of Bell Corps research. 275 00:14:35,001 --> 00:14:39,001 That's why Bell Corps decided to provide the Morris County Library system with a 276 00:14:39,001 --> 00:14:41,000 host connection to the internet. 277 00:14:41,001 --> 00:14:44,000 We've extended an existing interlibrary network 278 00:14:44,000 --> 00:14:45,001 that they had in Morris County, New Jersey. 279 00:14:46,000 --> 00:14:50,001 The existing network had a consolidated catalog for the entire county. 280 00:14:51,000 --> 00:14:55,001 So all the libraries had terminals, public access terminals and also some other 281 00:14:55,001 --> 00:14:58,001 terminals that only the librarians use and had access to a consolidated 282 00:14:58,001 --> 00:15:00,001 catalog and circulation database. 283 00:15:01,001 --> 00:15:05,000 And what Moinet is is an extension of this to connect this whole network to the 284 00:15:05,000 --> 00:15:07,001 outside world and make a lot more resources available. 285 00:15:08,000 --> 00:15:10,000 So far, the response has been enthusiastic. 286 00:15:10,001 --> 00:15:16,001 They realize how much it offers, that it's almost a, there's a world out there 287 00:15:16,001 --> 00:15:20,001 and they're thrilled with the fact that they can jump from Maine to Australia 288 00:15:20,001 --> 00:15:25,000 back to San Francisco on the internet and they love it. 289 00:15:25,000 --> 00:15:29,001 One of the items on the Moinet menu is a Bell Corps creation called Superbook. 290 00:15:30,000 --> 00:15:34,000 It's a hypertext interface that lets internet network providers offer 291 00:15:34,000 --> 00:15:35,001 large searchable databases. 292 00:15:36,000 --> 00:15:40,001 What Superbook will do is allow them to maintain their document database in a 293 00:15:40,001 --> 00:15:44,001 central location on the internet and then put out their documentation, whether 294 00:15:44,001 --> 00:15:49,000 it's a journal or some other set of materials to a whole variety of end user 295 00:15:49,000 --> 00:15:52,001 workstations ranging from an ASCII terminal all the way up to a 296 00:15:52,001 --> 00:15:54,000 very fancy workstation. 297 00:15:54,000 --> 00:15:58,001 Moinet's internet connection also provides access for library patrons to 298 00:15:58,001 --> 00:16:03,001 university databases, weather information and the CIA World Factbook. 299 00:16:04,000 --> 00:16:08,001 We're interested in making a more effective public communications network and by 300 00:16:08,001 --> 00:16:10,001 public we mean something open to everyone. 301 00:16:11,000 --> 00:16:14,001 And this is part of it, trying to make access broader, easier 302 00:16:14,001 --> 00:16:16,001 and more effective for a very wide public. 303 00:16:17,000 --> 00:16:21,001 And we hope that the knowledge we get here will help not only our owners to be 304 00:16:21,001 --> 00:16:24,001 more effective providers but will advance the 305 00:16:24,001 --> 00:16:26,000 whole national information infrastructure. 306 00:16:26,001 --> 00:16:29,000 For the Computer Chronicles, I'm Janelle Patterson. 307 00:16:42,000 --> 00:16:44,000 The internet is more than a technology. 308 00:16:44,000 --> 00:16:47,001 It's a sociological phenomenon which is redefining the word community. 309 00:16:48,000 --> 00:16:51,000 Here to show us that aspect of internet is Howard Reingold. 310 00:16:51,001 --> 00:16:54,000 Howard's the author of this book called The Virtual Community. 311 00:16:54,000 --> 00:16:57,001 And I want to ask you to sign on for us and while we're waiting for you to log on 312 00:16:57,001 --> 00:17:00,001 Howard, we're going to run over to Washington, D.C. to see one of the most 313 00:17:00,001 --> 00:17:02,001 innovative applications on the internet. 314 00:17:03,000 --> 00:17:06,000 It's the world's first computer delivered radio station. 315 00:17:07,001 --> 00:17:10,001 You've been listening to Geek of the Week on internet talk radio. 316 00:17:11,000 --> 00:17:13,001 Carl Malamud is internet talk radio. 317 00:17:13,001 --> 00:17:17,001 He produces audio data files at this studio in the National Press Club building 318 00:17:17,001 --> 00:17:20,001 then uploads them onto the internet via the World Wide Web. 319 00:17:21,000 --> 00:17:26,000 By sending mail to info at radio. com, you can access his interview program Geek 320 00:17:26,000 --> 00:17:29,000 of the Week and recordings of the National Press Club luncheon series. 321 00:17:30,000 --> 00:17:33,001 I'd like to welcome club members and their guests in the audience today as well 322 00:17:33,001 --> 00:17:39,000 as those of you watching on C-SPAN or accessing it on the global 323 00:17:39,000 --> 00:17:40,001 internet computer network. 324 00:17:40,001 --> 00:17:44,000 It's one of those ideas that started as a hobby and kind of went nuts. 325 00:17:44,001 --> 00:17:46,001 I wrote books about computers. 326 00:17:46,001 --> 00:17:50,001 I wrote seven books and I wrote magazine articles and I was looking for a 327 00:17:50,001 --> 00:17:54,000 magazine about the internet and there wasn't one and I wanted to start one. 328 00:17:55,000 --> 00:17:58,000 But that's expensive because you have to print paper and you have to mail paper 329 00:17:58,000 --> 00:18:00,000 and you have to audit who gets the paper 330 00:18:00,000 --> 00:18:02,000 so you can get it back to your advertisers. 331 00:18:03,000 --> 00:18:05,000 And I decided gee, let's do something on the network. 332 00:18:05,001 --> 00:18:09,000 Unlike a normal broadcast station which transmits programming on a regular 333 00:18:09,000 --> 00:18:13,000 schedule, Malamud's cyber station is asynchronous radio. 334 00:18:13,001 --> 00:18:16,001 Our radio is a kind of radio station which you pull up when you want. 335 00:18:17,000 --> 00:18:20,000 You come in in the morning, a phone call comes in, you put the radio on hold. 336 00:18:20,001 --> 00:18:22,001 You decide you're tired, you put it on hold again. 337 00:18:23,000 --> 00:18:24,001 You cut out the part you don't like. 338 00:18:24,001 --> 00:18:25,001 You just chop it out. 339 00:18:25,001 --> 00:18:26,001 You don't like my restaurant reviews. 340 00:18:27,000 --> 00:18:29,000 I love doing restaurant reviews but you don't like them. 341 00:18:29,000 --> 00:18:30,001 You just want to hear the technical meat. 342 00:18:31,000 --> 00:18:31,001 You cut them out. 343 00:18:32,000 --> 00:18:36,001 This non-linear digital approach to journalism raises both ethical and procedural 344 00:18:36,001 --> 00:18:39,001 questions that Malamud looks forward to discussing on the internet. 345 00:18:39,001 --> 00:18:43,001 We need to start seeing the Nina Totenbergs of the world showing up on the 346 00:18:43,001 --> 00:18:46,000 internet and we also want the individuals of the 347 00:18:46,000 --> 00:18:47,001 world being able to publish themselves. 348 00:18:48,000 --> 00:18:50,001 For the Computer Chronicles, I'm Janelle Stelson. 349 00:18:52,000 --> 00:18:54,000 And we're back with Howard Reingold. 350 00:18:54,000 --> 00:18:56,000 Howard, let's get back to the virtual community notion. 351 00:18:56,001 --> 00:18:57,001 You're logged on to something called the Well. 352 00:18:58,000 --> 00:18:59,001 How does that relate to the internet? 353 00:18:59,001 --> 00:19:03,000 Well, if you think of the internet as a digital superhighway, then all that 354 00:19:03,000 --> 00:19:07,000 information you can get that's like libraries and all of that software 355 00:19:07,000 --> 00:19:08,001 you can get, those are like warehouses. 356 00:19:09,000 --> 00:19:11,001 The Well is like a community where people live. 357 00:19:12,000 --> 00:19:15,000 It's not just information or products that you're looking for. 358 00:19:15,000 --> 00:19:16,001 It's connecting with other people. 359 00:19:17,000 --> 00:19:20,000 And there are many communities accessible through the internet. 360 00:19:20,000 --> 00:19:22,001 Show us on the Well the kinds of communities you're talking about. 361 00:19:23,000 --> 00:19:26,000 Well, communities are really built from people talking with each other. 362 00:19:26,001 --> 00:19:31,000 And this is about using computers to structure communications between humans. 363 00:19:31,001 --> 00:19:37,001 So here's a list of all of the general topics that people discuss in topic areas. 364 00:19:37,001 --> 00:19:41,001 So you have social responsibility in politics, and that includes everything from 365 00:19:41,001 --> 00:19:43,000 environment to firearms. 366 00:19:44,000 --> 00:19:47,001 There are hundreds of discussions in each one of those conference areas. 367 00:19:48,000 --> 00:19:52,000 Media and communications, you can see there are dozens of different topics there. 368 00:19:52,001 --> 00:19:53,001 Business and livelihood. 369 00:19:54,000 --> 00:19:56,000 This screen will go on for minutes. 370 00:19:56,001 --> 00:19:59,001 And each of these conferences is really the recording, if you will, of all the 371 00:19:59,001 --> 00:20:01,001 discussions that have taken place between 372 00:20:01,001 --> 00:20:03,000 all the members of this community, right? 373 00:20:03,000 --> 00:20:03,001 That's right. 374 00:20:03,001 --> 00:20:07,001 It's as if you walked into a cocktail party and you reeled back a conversation to 375 00:20:07,001 --> 00:20:10,000 the beginning so you could see what people were talking about. 376 00:20:10,000 --> 00:20:11,000 How do you use this? 377 00:20:11,000 --> 00:20:13,000 Give an example of one of the conferences you would be involved in. 378 00:20:13,000 --> 00:20:15,001 Okay, well, one that has a lot of heart and a lot of use to 379 00:20:15,001 --> 00:20:17,000 me is the parenting conference. 380 00:20:17,001 --> 00:20:18,001 We're not talking about computers. 381 00:20:18,001 --> 00:20:20,001 We're talking about our children there. 382 00:20:20,001 --> 00:20:24,001 So if you go to the parenting conference, you will find that there are a lot of 383 00:20:24,001 --> 00:20:28,001 topics within that parenting conference where people talk about where do you get 384 00:20:28,001 --> 00:20:33,001 a martial arts teacher for kids or what do you do about three-year-old jealousy 385 00:20:33,001 --> 00:20:38,000 or a child of cyberspace or putting baby pictures up online. 386 00:20:38,001 --> 00:20:41,001 So you can talk to people who have similar problems that you might not otherwise 387 00:20:41,001 --> 00:20:44,000 be able to meet or get to have this conversation with, right? 388 00:20:44,000 --> 00:20:44,001 Yes. 389 00:20:44,001 --> 00:20:48,000 In fact, you can have a kind of ready-made community when you need one. 390 00:20:48,001 --> 00:20:52,001 One real example of that was when one of the members of the community discovered 391 00:20:52,001 --> 00:20:55,000 that his son was diagnosed with leukemia. 392 00:20:55,000 --> 00:21:00,000 So, he opened a topic on the well, gave a little introduction to that topic in 393 00:21:00,000 --> 00:21:02,001 which he discussed what was happening to him and his family. 394 00:21:03,000 --> 00:21:07,001 And really, within minutes, other people began flocking to his help. 395 00:21:08,000 --> 00:21:10,000 And it was not just emotional support. 396 00:21:10,001 --> 00:21:13,000 There were a couple of doctors, a couple of nurses, and a couple of 397 00:21:13,000 --> 00:21:14,001 recovered leukemia patients. 398 00:21:15,000 --> 00:21:16,001 So that's kind of priceless help. 399 00:21:17,000 --> 00:21:21,000 You can get from people you may have never met before, but the well or other 400 00:21:21,000 --> 00:21:23,000 communities put you in touch with them. 401 00:21:23,001 --> 00:21:27,000 And you're on the well, but you might also be able to talk to people in another 402 00:21:27,000 --> 00:21:29,001 part of the country, another part of the world, for that matter, that 403 00:21:29,001 --> 00:21:31,000 they might be dealing with similar problems. 404 00:21:31,000 --> 00:21:31,001 Well, absolutely. 405 00:21:32,000 --> 00:21:36,000 You can get on to an on-ramp of the internet in Tokyo, and a second later, you 406 00:21:36,000 --> 00:21:38,000 are in the parenting conference of the well. 407 00:21:38,000 --> 00:21:43,001 So that's what I mean by a virtual community, is the time and space constraints 408 00:21:43,001 --> 00:21:46,000 of our normal communities are not there. 409 00:21:46,000 --> 00:21:49,001 It's what we're interested in and what we talk with each other about that 410 00:21:49,001 --> 00:21:51,000 really defines our community here. 411 00:21:51,000 --> 00:21:52,001 What else could we do on the well? 412 00:21:52,001 --> 00:21:55,001 What other kind of discussion or community could we get into, Howard? 413 00:21:55,001 --> 00:21:58,000 Well, you can go and talk about computers. 414 00:21:58,001 --> 00:21:59,001 I'm using a Macintosh here. 415 00:22:00,001 --> 00:22:02,000 You can go to the Macintosh conference. 416 00:22:02,001 --> 00:22:06,001 If you've got a problem and your best friend who knows about computers, his 417 00:22:06,001 --> 00:22:08,001 number is busy, you can log on to the well. 418 00:22:08,001 --> 00:22:12,001 And there are experts who are fighting with each other to give you the kind of 419 00:22:12,001 --> 00:22:14,000 information you need to solve your problem. 420 00:22:15,000 --> 00:22:17,000 Howard, what's the social significance of this? 421 00:22:17,000 --> 00:22:19,001 Is this really a major change in the way human 422 00:22:19,001 --> 00:22:21,000 beings may interact with each other? 423 00:22:21,001 --> 00:22:23,001 You're suggesting that in, say, the leukemia case, for example. 424 00:22:23,001 --> 00:22:25,000 Well, I believe that it is. 425 00:22:25,001 --> 00:22:29,000 You have to remember that in democratic society, citizens talking with 426 00:22:29,000 --> 00:22:30,001 each other is very important. 427 00:22:31,000 --> 00:22:34,000 We've lost a lot of that with the mass media. 428 00:22:34,001 --> 00:22:37,000 Now we have an opportunity for citizens to create their 429 00:22:37,000 --> 00:22:39,000 own communications with each other. 430 00:22:39,001 --> 00:22:43,001 So when these big deals with the big companies and the big governments carve up 431 00:22:43,001 --> 00:22:47,001 this new territory, I feel it's very important that we keep a kind of social 432 00:22:47,001 --> 00:22:51,001 green belt, that we keep the ability for citizens to talk amongst each other. 433 00:22:51,001 --> 00:22:53,000 Briefly, Howard, is there a downside? 434 00:22:53,001 --> 00:22:56,001 I mean, there's something limited about meeting people electronically. 435 00:22:56,001 --> 00:22:57,001 We're here face to face. 436 00:22:57,001 --> 00:22:59,001 I kind of get the sense of who you are and so on and so forth. 437 00:23:00,000 --> 00:23:02,001 Is there something missing, some negative to this online community? 438 00:23:03,000 --> 00:23:07,001 I think it's important to remember that just as a computer can connect us with 439 00:23:07,001 --> 00:23:10,000 people, it can also distance us from people. 440 00:23:10,000 --> 00:23:14,000 And you need to know that just as you can't trust everyone you talk to on the 441 00:23:14,000 --> 00:23:18,001 telephone, you can't trust everyone you meet in a virtual community until you 442 00:23:18,001 --> 00:23:20,001 meet them and get to know them offline. 443 00:23:21,000 --> 00:23:22,000 Howard, thank you very much. 444 00:23:22,000 --> 00:23:23,000 That is our look at internet. 445 00:23:23,001 --> 00:23:26,001 Stay tuned now for this week's Computer News on Random Access. 446 00:23:41,000 --> 00:23:44,000 In the Random Access file this week, there are some new entries 447 00:23:44,000 --> 00:23:45,001 in the subnotebook category. 448 00:23:46,001 --> 00:23:49,001 Canon introduced the InovaBook 1010C family of 449 00:23:49,001 --> 00:23:51,001 monochrome and color portable computers. 450 00:23:52,000 --> 00:23:57,001 The Canon 46SL subnotebooks weigh four pounds and come bundled with MS-DAW 6.2 451 00:23:57,001 --> 00:23:59,001 and Windows 3.1. 452 00:24:00,000 --> 00:24:04,000 One model comes with an internal bubble jet printer that's the smallest 453 00:24:04,000 --> 00:24:05,001 Canon printer ever made. 454 00:24:05,001 --> 00:24:08,001 Prices range from $1600 to just over $2000. 455 00:24:10,000 --> 00:24:14,001 Panasonic rolled out its new DX475 megahertz notebook which comes 456 00:24:14,001 --> 00:24:16,000 with a multimedia pocket. 457 00:24:16,001 --> 00:24:20,000 The pocket holds a floppy disk drive which pops out to accept optional 458 00:24:20,000 --> 00:24:24,001 peripherals including an internal CD-ROM drive, an extra battery 459 00:24:24,001 --> 00:24:26,000 pack or a TV tuner. 460 00:24:26,001 --> 00:24:29,000 Prices range from $54 to $5900. 461 00:24:30,000 --> 00:24:34,001 And Symantec has released version 2 of ACT for Windows, the popular contact 462 00:24:34,001 --> 00:24:38,000 management software which helps you keep track of your business relationships. 463 00:24:39,000 --> 00:24:43,000 ACT 2.0 now includes network support, integrated email and 464 00:24:43,000 --> 00:24:45,000 enhanced calendar printing functions. 465 00:24:45,001 --> 00:24:49,000 There's also a new version of ACT available for HP palm tops. 466 00:24:49,001 --> 00:24:54,000 Elacrity Systems has a new hardware-software bundle on the market called Office 467 00:24:54,000 --> 00:24:59,001 in a Box that turns your PC and printer into a digital copier, a plain paper fax 468 00:24:59,001 --> 00:25:02,000 machine and an electronic filing cabinet. 469 00:25:02,001 --> 00:25:06,001 The $500 Office in a Box bundle includes a scanner, fax modem and 470 00:25:06,001 --> 00:25:08,001 Elacrity's EQIP software. 471 00:25:09,000 --> 00:25:13,001 And finally, in honor of the 25th anniversary of man's landing on the moon, Alpha 472 00:25:13,001 --> 00:25:18,000 Books has released a new title called Computers in Space, Journeys with NASA. 473 00:25:18,001 --> 00:25:22,001 The book contains rare photographs and extensive information on the role that 474 00:25:22,001 --> 00:25:26,001 computers played in putting people in space and information on the possibilities 475 00:25:26,001 --> 00:25:30,000 of computer technology in future NASA explorations. 476 00:25:31,000 --> 00:25:32,001 That's it for this week's Computer Chronicles. 477 00:25:33,000 --> 00:25:34,000 I'm Janelle Stelson. 478 00:26:00,001 --> 00:26:03,001 Video cassette copies of this program are available. 479 00:26:04,000 --> 00:26:08,000 Computer Chronicles also publishes a companion newsletter containing details on 480 00:26:08,000 --> 00:26:11,000 products demonstrated and information on program topics. 481 00:26:11,001 --> 00:26:17,000 To order a video cassette or a newsletter, call 1-800-799-4949 482 00:26:17,000 --> 00:26:18,001 or write Computer Chronicles. 483 00:26:19,000 --> 00:26:21,000 Please specify program subject for tapes. 484 00:26:22,000 --> 00:26:26,000 All orders include a free software program for auditing software use and 485 00:26:26,000 --> 00:26:28,001 information on the definitive guide to keeping your 486 00:26:28,001 --> 00:26:30,000 organization's software legal.